USER-GENERATED CONTENT FOR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING An IAB Buyer's Guide Use of User-Generated Content (UGC) for marketing and advertising purposes has grown significantly in recent years largely due to the rise of social and messaging platforms where "ordinary people" have become avid and voluntary content creators, notably on their mobile devices. Publishers, marketers, and agencies are increasingly taking notice and capitalizing on this trend in new and exciting ways. UGC as a marketing and advertising tactic has developed into a distinctly different discipline than Influencer Marketing and, thus, warrants its own exploratory. This is an important shift in thinking by IAB from prior guidance on UGC that previously included top down influencers as part of the definition of UGC. This Guide includes a Definition, Key Benefits, Sources and Types of UGC, Use Cases, and Legal considerations. The goal of the Guide is to help brands and their agencies understand how UGC can help meet their marketing and advertising objectives. May 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Mission and Contributors . 3 What is UGC? . 4 • Definition . 4 • The Difference between UGC and Influencer Marketing Content........................4 The Main Types of UGC . 5 What's Driving Growth of UGC for Marketing and Advertising? . 6 Key Benefits of UGC for Use in Marketing and Advertising . 7 The Proven Effectiveness of UGC . 8 • Why Do People Share? ........................................................8 • Why Do People Share Content About Brands?......................................8 • What Makes UGC Effective? . 8 • How Effective is UGC When Used in/as Advertisements? . 11 How UGC is Being Used in Advertising and Marketing Today . 12 • UGC for Advertising Examples . 12 • User Reviews . 12 • Crowd-sourced Videos...................................................13 • Social ................................................................14 • Video Ads . 15 • UGC for Marketing Examples ..................................................15 • Content Marketing/Storytelling ............................................16 • Point-of-Sale (Digital) . 17 • Email . 17 • Website Enhancement . 18 • Event Marketing ........................................................19 • Crowd-sourced Content ..................................................20 • Intelligence/Social Listening...............................................21 • Cross-Channel Engagement...............................................22 How Can a Brand Get Started with UGC? . 23 Top Usage and Legal Considerations . 26 Conclusion . 29 Appendix . 30 • UGC or Influencer Marketing? Is a Disclosure Required? .............................30 UGC for Marketing and Advertising: An IAB Buyer's Guide • 2 MISSION AND CONTRIBUTORS In recent years, user-generated content (UGC) has been utilized in marketing and advertising campaigns with increasing frequency. Why is this the case? And what constitutes as UGC? These are the questions that the IAB UGC for Marketing and Advertising working group set out to answer with the goal of providing marketers and their agencies helpful insights and actionable best practices to put this growing marketing and advertising tactic to work. The working group was led by Susan Borst, VP, Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence at IAB with co-chairs from TripAdvisor and Vivoom. DAVID M . ELKINS CLAY WEBSTER Sr. Director of Display CTO & Co-founder Advertising Sales, Americas TripAdvisor Vivoom, Inc. Working group members included: RAANAN ERAN FORTVISION MICHAEL HESS STORYFUL LAURA FERRON IAB CANADA EBONIE NEWMAN STORYFUL ZACHARY ALTER JUKIN MEDIA DAVID M . ELKINS TRIPADVISOR BRENDON MULVIHILL JUKIN MEDIA JOHN BOLAND TRUSTED MEDIA BRANDS MIKE SKOGMO JUKIN MEDIA LAUREN HALPERN VIVOOM, INC. JEN TARVIN JUKIN MEDIA STEVE GOLDSTEIN VIVOOM, INC. VLADIMIR LEVANTOVSKY MONOTYPE KATHERINE HAYS VIVOOM, INC. PAU SABRIA MONOTYPE JEFF WALKER VIVOOM, INC. NICK FRIZZELL SPOTX CLAY WEBSTER VIVOOM, INC. UGC for Marketing and Advertising: An IAB Buyer's Guide • 3 WHAT IS UGC? Definition * Individuals is defined as those who do not have any kind of material connection with a brand. This would exclude paid influencers and professional bloggers. More details on the FTC's definition of a "material connection" is found below. The Difference Between UGC and Influencer Marketing Content UGC for marketing and advertising purposes can be overtly related to a brand (i.e. a branded meme or a review), or it can be content that is not in any way related to a brand (i.e. a cat video that may complement a pet product's message), as will be discussed in this Guide. In all instances, there is no material connection between the brand and the person who posted the content. Per the FTC, a material connection is With no material connection, user-generated content "where there exists a connection between does not need any disclosure copy because there is the endorser and the seller of the nothing to disclose. advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the This is what differentiates UGC from Influencer endorsement (i.e. the connection is not Marketing. The test is whether it can be "reasonably reasonably expected by the audience) such expected by the audience" that no material connection connection must be fully disclosed."* exists between a brand and a user in UGC "that might materially affect the weight or credibility of In other words, any relationship between the endorsement." a brand and an individual that challenges the objectivity of what s/he shares relative to that brand must be "clearly NOTE and conspicuously" disclosed. A material The Appendix of this Guide includes examples connection could include cash payment, a of UGC content on social media alongside free product or trip, or could even be that influencer content on social media to clearly individual's connection to the brand; e.g., illustrate the difference. they work for the company. *Source: https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-publishes-final- guides-governing-endorsements-testimonials/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf UGC for Marketing and Advertising: An IAB Buyer's Guide • 4 THE MAIN TYPES OF UCG It's no holds barred when it comes to consumers' content generation options. New formats such as live streaming and the use of augmented reality (AR) filters and lenses have provided consumers with new ways to create content and have given marketers new ways to leverage UGC as part of their marketing and advertising efforts. PHOTOS SOCIAL VIDEO CONTENT including live PLATFORM streaming UGC AR REVIEW/ LENSES/FILTERS on any type FORUMS/ of content COMMENTS "The advent of social commerce and the growing consumer distaste for aggressive marketing tactics has led many brands and advertisers to turn to user-generated content to connect and engage consumers." • Pau Sabria, Co-founder, Olapic UGC for Marketing and Advertising: An IAB Buyer's Guide • 5 WHAT'S DRIVING GROWTH OF UGC IN MARKETING AND ADVERTISING? It should come as no surprise that advances in mobile device camera/video technology are driving growth as ordinary consumers can become extraordinary creators with ease of sharing made possible on social media, texts, messaging apps, video sharing platforms and more! Looking under the hood, however, trends like the sharing economy and the direct-to-consumer brand phenomenon are further driving the use of UGC for a variety of marketing purposes. User generated content also offers unique insight into the hearts and minds of consumers precisely because their creations and contributions are without commercial motive. From Glassdoor reviews to Reddit threads to memes, these insights can arm companies with innovative ideas that can even inform creative direction and communication strategies. The infographic to the right shows key drivers of UGC growth by brands who seek to engage with consumers in more authentic ways. Why? Simply, consumers are revolting from ads, particularly intrusive ads on mobile devices. This has led to banner blindness and even ad blocking. In a world where it is increasingly difficult to capture consumers' attention and engage with them in meaningful ways, UGC fits the bill on organic, engaging and non-intrusive marketing executions. UGC for Marketing and Advertising: An IAB Buyer's Guide • 6 KEY BENEFITS OF UGC FOR USE IN MARKETING AND ADVERTISING For brands and their agencies, there are many benefits to using UGC for marketing and advertising purposes. Top among them are: Highly Trusted Numerous studies, some highlighted in this guide, have shown Online Content that UGC is among the most trustworthy content available. It is often more trusted, credible and memorable than traditional brand advertising, with trust being an important factor leading to increased loyalty, conversion and even purchases. Stronger Brand Brand equity can be strengthened with the use of UGC. which Affinity and has proven to be an effective consumer marketing tactic. UGC Engagement can drive desired consumer behaviors including affinity and engagement which can lead to conversion. More Earned Media UGC campaigns are ripe for earned media opportunities which create a virality that can benefit marketers to draw more people to your site, both new and repeat visitors. Stronger SEO UGC is proven to be an effective way to increase search engine indexing, particularly in relation to a social SEO campaign. New Research There are a number of tools available to help publishers and Opportunities brands "listen" and act upon UGC